In recent years, electronic conference systems that use computer systems have prevailed. Especially, in an electronic conference system using a large-screen display device, a mouse, a digitizer, and the like are used as coordinate input devices, which are used to designate processing contents (menus) and to make instructions corresponding to the processing contents.
Since a mouse is compact and easy to use, it is suited to a case wherein a pointer that interlocks with the movement of the mouse is displayed on the display screen of a computer, and an arbitrary position on the display screen is designated using a button, or an operation for selecting a menu displayed on the screen is made. However, the mouse is not suited to an operation that requires high precision, e.g., an operation for drawing an image such as a line segment or the like on the display screen.
A digitizer is suited to screen drawing since it can be operated as a conventional writing tool, and to handwriting input in an electronic conference system or the like.
However, text information must be input using a keyboard.
In an electronic conference system, participants may use a plurality of mice, digitizers, and keyboards upon operating a TV conference system.
However, a keyboard or mouse is not always located near each participant, and the participant must move to the position in front of the screen so as to use a digitizer.
As means for solving such drawback, for example, “Computer presentation system” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-191027 has proposed means that uses a portable information terminal with a digitizer on hand as a coordinate input device of a TV conference system.
Also, “Handwriting input recognition system and its control method” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-293813 has proposed a technique in which an image of a handwritten character input by a portable information terminal with a digitizer on hand is transmitted to a host PC.
Furthermore, “Remote collaboration system” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-49834 has proposed a conference system that allows remote control by a plurality of computers.
In “Computer presentation system” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-191027, screen information of the TV conference system is reduced in size and is transferred to a portable information terminal with a digitizer on hand of each participant, and the participant designates information on the screen of the portable information terminal using its digitizer. In this way, this invention has proposed means that uses a digitizer as a coordinate input device which converts the relative coordinate on the screen into a coordinate position on the screen of the TV conference system. However, since screen information is transferred in real time, it amounts to a considerable data size, and the loads on processes of both the portable terminal and host PC are heavy. In addition, a keyboard must be prepared to input text information.
In “Handwriting input recognition system and its control method” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-293813, an image of a handwritten character input at a portable information terminal with a digitizer on hand is sent to a host PC, which makes character recognition based on that image. However, since a handwritten character is sent to the host PC as an image, the size of data to be transferred is large, and the load on the host PC becomes heavier.
Furthermore, “Remote collaboration system” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-49834 is a conference system that allows remote control by a plurality of computers. However, since the respective computers are exclusively categorized to an observer, commenter, and controller, a sequence for changing their roles is required.
As means for directly connecting a plurality of mice to a computer and allowing these mice to remotely control the computer, “Mouse extension/expansion device” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,543,272 is known. “Mouse extension/expansion device” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,543,272 has disclosed means that implements remote control using a plurality of mice via a mouse driver. However, “Mouse extension/expansion device” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,543,272 allows remote control by means of only a display and mice, but does not allow any key input. So, a new device must be added for key input.
In recent years, a software product that remotely controls a computer system via a network without the intervention of an input device driver on a host PC has been released. With such software product, a remote PC converts mouse information and key information into a TCP/IP packet, and sends it to a host PC. A remote control program of the host PC interprets the received TCP/IP packet, and outputs mouse and key events to an OS, thus controlling an application which runs on the host PC.
Such remote control software can solve the drawback of a process using only the display and mice, and the drawback of addition of a new device of “Mouse extension/expansion device” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,543,272.
Since the above remote control software executes exclusion control among remote PCs, exclusion control of mice disclosed in “Mouse extension/expansion device” disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2,543,272 is implemented by remote control.
Since the mouse and key inputs by the conventional remote control and the inputs by mouse and keyboard drivers have different routes until an application receives mouse or key information, the application may simultaneously receive the mouse or key information from both the routes, and a conflict upon using input devices, i.e., a trouble due to simultaneous use occurs.
For example, when a mouse is operated at a remote PC while a mouse connected to the host PC is operated, the former operation may be enabled.
On the other hand, when a key input is made at a remote PC while a key input is made at a keyboard connected to a host PC, the former key input may be enabled.
Such trouble, if any, can be avoided by setting a host PC priority mode or remote PC priority mode. However, the operation mode must be switched each time during user's operation, resulting in troublesome operations.
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems, and has as its object to provide an information processing apparatus which can efficiently and easily implement input control associated with a host terminal in a system in which the host terminal can be remotely controlled, its control method, and a program.